Signature Urban Properties and Monadnock Construction are set to break ground on the first phase of a 10-building, 1,300-unit apartment complex in the Bronx, to date the borough’s largest private residential project, the Wall Street Journal reported.
The Compass Residences complex, to be erected in the Crotona Park East and West Farms section of the South Bronx in an area bordered by the Sheridan Expressway, will be built in an area currently composed of defunct warehouses. The area was rezoned from fully industrial to mixed-use in 2011, to allow for the Signature development. The buildings will rise as high as 15 stories, towering over the low- and mid-rise structures on surrounding blocks.
Signature began work on the project — whose first $70 million phase involves the construction of two buildings with 237 rental units — in 2007. A founder and managing principal at the company, Gifford Miller, said the development would “strengthen the surrounding residential community by transforming a barren industrial area.” Miller is a former Democratic candidate for mayor who also served as speaker of the City Council.
Once the developers secure additional financing, they will begin additional phases and are expected to complete the complex in 2019, for a total estimated cost of $350 million. The complex will also contain 46,000 square feet of retail space, as The Real Deal previously reported.
The development met with broad approval in the City Council and among local politicians.
“I am excited that this new development will soon break ground,” Bronx Borough President Ruben Diaz Jr. said in a statement. “I cannot wait to see West Farms transformed into a thriving, dynamic, mixed-income residential community with affordable housing and retail space.”
But it has attracted the ire of graffiti enthusiasts since it would clear the “Bronx Wall of Fame,” a cluster of Buildings On Boone Avenue that is covered with graffiti. [WSJ] – Hiten Samtani